Canadian anti–Chinese laws had a very real impact on the lives of Chinese women between 1923 and 1967. Wives and daughters in China were faced with a period of family separation, while those in Canada had to find their way in overwhelmingly male–populated communities. Before the Second World War, Chinese Canadian women faced serious discrimination in housing and employment. The Second World War and the decades that followed brought a period of change in which Chinese Canadian women successfully challenged racial barriers, and human rights legislation began to take root. Change was, however, a long process, and many continued to struggle with prejudices into the 1960s.

The Canadian legal landscape changed significantly between 1923 and 1967, making the country more hospitable to later generations of Chinese Canadian women.